Top 50 moments: Colt .45s become the Astros

Moment behind the moment: The Colt .45s become subjects of a cash grab

And it was a perfectly reasonable cash grab too for what is now the Colt’s Manufacturing Company. They had OKed the new National League franchise’s nickname of the Colt .45s for play beginning in 1962.

It was perfect symbiosis. For the franchise, a chance for a pretty tough name to go with a tough city. For the Connecticut-based company, a chance for a little name recognition.

But eventually the sides squabbled when the manufacturer believed it should get a cut of the licencing fees. Roy Hofheinz didn’t want to give any of that up and opted to change the name instead, with the new nickname matching the new domed stadium and the city’s close ties to the space industry.

It’s fascinating to wonder how long the Colt .45s name would have lasted were it not for this early financially driven swap. The Washington Bullets changed their name to the Washington Wizards in a change announced in 1995. Would the Colt .45s have gone next with Columbine, Virginia Tech and the other instances of horrific and very public gun violence? Or even earlier, when Houston was dubbed the murder capital of the United States?

Here’s guessing it would have been changed eventually, but those decisions never had to be made.